Lithuanian Radio and Television

KAMINSKAS Dalius, Vilnius

It was about 2:15 when we heard shooting and series of machine-gun fire as we ran to the radio and television building. The beam of a searchlight cut through the sky. There were quite a few people, most of whom were by the administrative entrance. They were shooting in the street near the Radio and TV Center - there were also tanks standing there. Their searchlights were directed at the people. At first, we thought they were firing blanks, but we became uncomfortable when we heard bullets humming by.

An uproar began in the street and people began to rally at the entrance. Everyone was waiting for an attack. Behind us, we could hear the clatter of shattering windows, and two special detachment officers with tommy guns came outside. Inside we could see more soldiers armed with guns. One of them had a big tube for emitting tear gas. People started to chant “Fascists!" and someone was shouting in Russian. One officer screamed: „Vy ubili naševo čeloveka!" („You killed our person!")

Soon you could hear the drone of tank engines from the street. They began to drive through the grass and hedges towards the building.

Tank shots were thundering, and although there wasn't panic, confusion was beginning to grow. The windows of the television tower shattered. Out of the dark, two tanks appeared among the trees, as well as some light tanks. Soldiers fired over the people's heads as they came out of the building. The people moved to the side and pressed themselves against the wall. With a few pushes, the tank moved to the entrance. With a few more pushes it moved the people out of the way. A group of soldiers appeared from somewhere. They rushed forward, firing over the people's heads. Some people were shot. The soldiers waved the butts of their guns around and threw explosives. Plaster was falling from the building after being hit with bullets. It's hard to say how long that lasted. Policemen pushed people farther away from the building.

The people gathered on the other side of the street. Soldiers lined up in the middle of the street. They were equipped with machine guns, knives, gas balloons, helmets, and bullet-proof vests. Policemen lined up on the other side of the street to guard the people. Machine gun barrels were looking them in the face. A recording was playing over the loudspeaker: „Go home... We don't want bloodshed..." Now and then the recording was interrupted by a series of machine gun fire or an explosion. The chanting didn't stop, and ambulances appeared.

An explosive was thrown into a group of people and someone was badly injured. Many of the windows of a neighboring house broke from machine-gun fire. The lawn of the house was covered with shattered glass. Some object that was hissing and smoking flew from the other side of the street. It was tear gas. The paratroopers fired at the pavement, right by the people's feet.Four light tanks and two tanks attacked the TV and Radio Center. Later, six armored vehicles (BTR-type) arrived. There were about 100 special detachment soldiers. An “Ikarus" bus with „Jedinstvo" members arrived.